How to Cut a Jicama

Hee-ka-ma (you're welcome) is native to Mexico as well as Central and South America, and is considered to be a root vegetable. The plant itself is a legume and inedible, it's actually highly poisonous so don't go messing with it. It's also a good idea to do a thorough job in removing the peel, since it contains toxins as well.

Most of the jicamas found in supermarkets are likely imported from Mexico, and Central or South America. It is a tropical legume, so it needs a relatively warm and frost free environment to grow. Properly stored (which is in the fridge) your jicama will live forever. Well, at least for a month or two.

Jicama can be enjoyed cooked or raw. The most common and popular way to enjoy this crunchy and juicy root vegetable is to slice or dice it up, sprinkle it with a little salt and chili powder, and finish off with a drizzle of lime. Try using jicama in tacos, these Halibut Tacos are a great place to start.

Ingredients
- Jicama 1

Instructions

How to Peel a Jicama

Trim and discard the ends of the jicama root.

Place the root, cut side down, and start slicing off the peel going around to the whole vegetable to ensure that all peel is removed.

You can flip the root if you feel like you missed a few spots at the bottom, and slice off remaining skin.
How to Dice a Jicama

Follow instructions on how to peel jicama.

Slice a piece off of each side, to create a cube.

Slice jicama (thickness depends on how big you want the dice to be).

Place slices cut side down and slice again into sticks. Rotate 180 degrees and cut into dice.